Business briefs for June 9

Financial services firm Edward Jones has been moved up on the annual FORTUNE 500 list, as published by FORTUNE magazine, in its second appearance in two years, said a news release provided by Mike Snodgrass, Mike Leary and Neil Frost, the financial advisers in Marshall.

FORTUNE magazine’s annual listing ranks the largest U.S. companies by revenue. Edward Jones moved up 47 spots to No. 444 on this year’s list, with more than $5.7 billion in revenue for 2013.

Extreme Panel receives housing award

At the annual conference of the Structural Insulated Panel Association, Extreme Panel Tech., Inc. of Cottonwood received the 2014 Affordable Housing and the Special Renovations Award. Now in its 14th year, the SIPA Building Excellence Awards highlight innovative projects using SIPs as the basis for energy-efficient, green buildings.

All submissions used SIPs for at least 50 percent of the building envelope. Entries were evaluated on energy efficiency, design and structural engineering innovation and other SIPs-related factors that contributed to the overall success of the project.

The affordable housing project is the St. Croix Valley Habitat for Humanity, located in River Falls, Wis. This 18-home model neighborhood will be one of the first sustainable neighborhood developments in the country to receive the LEED for Homes Platinum designations – recognized as one of the highest sustainability standards in the building industry. Extreme Panels has provided the walls for all of the exterior walls.

The Special Renovations Award is for a project located in Park Rapids in which a 20-25 year old home was insulated with “retrofit” panels. Retrofit Panels are composed of expanded polystyrene insulation laminated to an OSB exterior skin. They can be applied to walls or roofs without the interior mess and disruption of household activities. After the Park Rapids project was completed, the homeowner said, “It made a huge difference on heating. The wood stove is way too big.”